Tuesday, August 20, 2013

White Poppy [Interview # 135]

1) Being a one woman show, what made you
decide to record music under the moniker White Poppy instead of just using your
real name?

I’ve always liked the idea of having band names and
monikers for music projects. I guess it’s a way to have a bit of separation from
your personal identity.

2) Your newest album is called “Drifters
Gold”. What’s with all the colors?

Drifters Gold is the title of a
book of poems that I was inspired by while making the album. Also, my
connotation with the word gold was treasure, not colour. ;)

3) You’re are on a label called Constellation
Tatsu, who have released “Drifters Gold” on cassette. I used to think that
record labels weren’t so important in the 21st century, yet when they release
cassettes and records they seem like they can be. Even especially because your
tape is part of a summer package, which hey, maybe somebody might buy to hear
The Motion Sickness of Time Travel but then get your tape and fall in love. Do
you feel like record labels can still play a role in music in 2013?

Yeah I think record
labels are beneficial in a variety of ways. It’s true that they aren’t as needed
in the modern age, you can do things yourself if you want to. But, you may miss
out on being a part of a community, gaining connections, and benefiting from the
experiences of people who are already on the path you want to be on. The nice
thing about a lot of record labels now, is that they aren’t as rigid as before.
Also, there is such a wide spectrum that resides under the term “record label”.
A record label can be a friend of yours who dubs tapes in their bedroom, or it
can be a big corporate business, and everything in between.

4) And how important do you feel physical releases
are in this day and age? I really like cassette tapes and records, so having
them available is cool to me.

I like physical
releases. I wouldn’t feel satisfied if I finished recording an album and then
just put some mp3’s online. I like to think about the art and the packaging, and
I like trading physical items with people. Also, who knows what will happen to
the Internet and computers. Imagine if all music became digital and then there
was a massive computer crash and everything was destroyed? No history of the
music from the 2000’s. Cassettes and records will probably survive the
apocalypse and future humans will find them lol.

5) You covered the song “Last Christmas”, which is
one of maybe two holiday songs that I actually enjoy as an original (The other
being the one about skipping Christmas this year, by the Waitresses). I feel
holiday music (aka Christmas songs) to be somewhat weird because I like music I
can listen to all year round and not just during the month of December. What is
your take on the holiday jams?

I did that track for a cover song
compilation that I put together. The idea was to kind of poke fun at the
ridiculous tradition of bands doing Christmas recordings and covers. I find most
Christmas music to be pretty horrendous and awful. I thought it would be an
interesting project to take these overly joyous and festive songs and kind of
mess them up and make them weird.